


It's All In The Past

by bluepulsebluepulse



Series: Love is Intense [3]
Category: DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Bluepulse, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Last one in the series, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Speedbuggy, Trequel, Wrote this forever ago but never posted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:07:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26658670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluepulsebluepulse/pseuds/bluepulsebluepulse
Summary: The third and final installment of my love is intense series.Who will propose to who first?
Relationships: Bart Allen/Jaime Reyes
Series: Love is Intense [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1633561
Comments: 16
Kudos: 7





	1. An Ocean Of Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PaintingWithDarkness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaintingWithDarkness/gifts).



> I wrote this a longgg time ago and never posted it. I have decided to post it for reasons I shall keep close to my chest lol. Hope you like this fic even if it is cringe lol.
> 
> Wrote this so long ago I can barely remember what happens or who is in it lol.

The most powerful, overwhelming kind of love lingered in the linked pair of pupils. Jaime’s ink-black islands were firmly fixed on Bart’s own and vice versa. Each of them were practicing perfect synchronization, aware of one another’s smiles in their peripheral vision. But those calm grins couldn’t compare to the tender gaze where they were just knowingly appreciating one another’s presence, but most importantly, one another’s devotion. They had both swum through quite the storm to reach one another, each having come from their own stranded side, of their shared hell. But now that they had each other, they knew the hardest part of their lives was far behind them.

“I love you.” It wasn’t impossible, they both said it to one another at exactly the same time.

Bart bit his lip and Jaime crinkled his eyes as they both shared in a soft chuckle, amused over the perfect timing. The two men continued to adore one another from across the short distance between Bart’s head in Jaime’s lap. The two were perfectly comfortable on their suede couch.

Jaime’s fingers floated up to the cheeky curl of auburn hair that had fallen into Bart’s eye after the light laugh, and he brushed it aside delicately. Bart smirked back up at his benevolent boyfriend. The speedster suddenly experienced the surprise onset of a yawn. After recovering and repositioning his lazy tongue a few times, Bart blinked up through tired, lidded eyes.

“You should catch some z’s amorcito.” Jaime’s intuition told him to whisper the sentiment so as to avoid risking the promotion of any unnecessary liveliness in Bart. The Latino was surprised the fastest man alive had managed to stay awake as long as he had. They had had a particularly long day saving the world as they usually did.

“Okay.” Bart’s eyes fought to stay open long enough to think of a witty remark to bless Jaime with before he drifted off, but the think tank was out of fuel. Jaime grinned and bit his tongue to stifle a laugh of surprise; he couldn’t believe Bart hadn’t managed to quickly discard one of his trademark quips. Depending on the nature of the joke, Jaime would react differently, and Bart lived for each expression regardless of whatever it was. The speedster had managed to push Jaime’s quota for quips much further from the zero it had been sitting at when they had first become friends. Jaime had always pretended not to love Bart’s cheek, but the speedster knew deep down his partner wouldn’t have it any other way.

Reminiscing on the earlier days of their relationship, Jaime succumbed to the overwhelming urge to kiss Bart’s forehead as a thank you.

As his head hovered back up, he whispered, “Gracias mi amor.”

Jaime was stunned by the sudden smirk that spread across Bart’s face, “You’re welcome.”

One emerald eye was granted the opportunity to sneak a quick peek up at the expression it knew would be resting upon Jaime’s face. A pair of pink, pursed lips painted with the kind of approval he didn’t want to award Bart’s constant cheek, sat below squinted, loving eyes. A glint swirled around the green, iridescent iris in sheer delight, seeing its favorite sight. Bart’s eyelid closed again slowly, hiding the beautiful eye underneath.

Jaime looked at Bart in all his beauty and watched as his partner fell asleep peacefully. Not for all the wealth and power in the world, would Jaime give this up. He was the luckiest man alive. Having accepted the events of the past, Jaime knew his life wasn’t perfect. But Bart brought a special light to his life, one strong enough to chase away any of the darkness he ever found himself facing.

Lifting his chin as the moment struck him in the heart with an epiphany, Jaime spoke to his scarab, “It’s time.”

“What is it time for Jaime Reyes?” The curious beetle quizzed his host.

“To ask Bart to marry me.” Tears scuttled over his scleras as he smiled warmly.

The scarab sounded a musical chirp that Jaime interpreted as a mixture of both a gasp but mostly encouragement. A black eyebrow raised waiting for the follow through from the concise, coleopterous insect clamped to his back.

“Congratulations Jaime Reyes.”

Jaime laughed in his mind, “Gracias, Scarab. But save your congrats until after Bart says yes.”

“I have no doubt that the Bart Allen will say yes. He loves you very much.”

Jaime looked back down at the speedster whose chest was rising and falling calmly, “I know.”

Jaime had found his forever. He knew there’d never be another. He had known this for a long time too, but he was just waiting until he was certain that he was in the position to deliver the best proposal; because Bart deserved it all. If he was being honest with himself, he felt like he had waited too long as it was - not that he wasn’t loving every second of what they had now. Because he was, what they had was bliss. But this was it. He was afraid if he waited any longer, he was going to burst. Time was getting on and they were certainly old enough to go for it. And this had been a long time coming. Jaime had known for years he was going to propose to Bart. 

“When are you going to propose to the Bart Allen?” Jaime’s trusted friend queried the quiet man who was desperately trying not to wake Bart up by dropping happy tears on his tanned, Caucasian face.

Jaime looked up, for two reasons, “I’m not sure Scarab. I just- I don’t want to rush this... But hopefully I’ll have the perfect proposal soon.” Jaime had honestly never felt so vulnerable with Khaji Da before.

Of course, Jaime was going to plan something special. Bart deserved only the most memorable and meaningful proposal of all time. Jaime just wanted to make sure he got it right. He would never forgive himself if anything went wrong. There was a lot of pressure riding on this to be perfect.

“I could assist you if you would like Jaime Reyes?” The scarab sounded almost hopeful to be let in on the - once in a lifetime - event.

“You know what?” Jaime sounded surprised before he broke into a disbelieving chuckle, “I never thought I’d be taking love advice from you, but… I’ll let you help out on this one Scarab. I mean, this is still my proposal, so it mostly has to come from me. But you can help.”

The beetle beholden to Jaime beeped happily. Jaime smiled as he tried to look over his shoulder, shocked by the new tone he had never heard from the beetle before. He almost hadn’t recognized it. Jaime’s shift caused Bart to stir, so he settled back down not daring to risk waking his sleeping lover up. He was going to have to sleep on the couch and face the fury of pins and needles in his legs the next morning, but Bart was worth it.

Until he did eventually fall asleep covered in his warm blanket made of one hundred percent Bart, Jaime had decided to begin the preliminary planning of his proposal. The first thing to deliberate on was arguably the most important part of a proposal, the location. A proposal was most profound when done in a special place. Jaime knew the words wouldn’t matter if he were to hypothetically just give in to the urge to propose and get down on one knee beside a dumpster in a dark alley, after having taken down some street scum. No. Jaime had to choose a nice spot to pop the question, preferably a private place too.

A bunch of meaningful places occurred to Jaime right off the bat: the old site of Mount Justice where they had first met, the corner of the crossing outside the supermarket where they had shared their first packet of Chicken Whizees, the El Paso desert where they had spent much time pining after one another, either of their bedrooms in their old family homes, their current house which had been graciously given to them by Ted and Michael, and even more.

Jaime was admittedly worried Bart would catch on, and for some reason, his heart was set on trying to make it a surprise. In which case, he would need to choose somewhere special, but not entirely obvious. This wasn’t going to be as easy as he had thought. He gasped as he stumbled upon an idea.

Early on in their relationship, Jaime had taken Bart to a private beach in Central City. It hadn’t been special for making any firsts in their relationship, but that didn’t matter. It had been an utterly romantic date regardless. Bart had sat in between Jaime’s open legs facing the horizon. The taller of the two had his arms wrapped around the speedster. Jaime had surprised not only Bart, but himself, by being uncharacteristically affectionate and nuzzling into the speedster’s neck. It was just that the soothing sound of the shore had relaxed him to new heights. 

Bart had giggled as Jaime had pressed the kisses into the sensitive sinews of his neck. Of course, Jaime was much more affectionate now, but during those early days he had still been a bit reserved in his affections because he was scared. Make no mistake, Jaime had been terrified dating his best friend, worried he would somehow screw it up, screw their relationship up. He was after all so serious, and Bart was so free-going. But Bart had been the most persevering person on the planet, and had continued softening up not only Jaime, but the scarab too. That accomplishment alone testified to Bart’s beautiful, loving and soft nature.

That was surely the solution to the site of the date dilemma. The date which of course, would act as the front for the proposal. Jaime was so excited he wanted to shift about in a manly jig, but he knew he couldn’t with Bart sleeping away on top of him.

“Scarab, what do you think of me asking Bart on that beach?” Jaime offered up the memory like a crown on a pillow to his scarab for a second opinion.

“I think it’s an excellent location Jaime Reyes. When I scanned the Bart Allen’s vitals that day, his heart rate was amongst the calmest it has ever been.” To be precise, it was the fourth most relaxed heart rate reading the scarab had stored away in his database. In the past, the clear-cut scarab would have been finicky enough to mention the exact number, but over the years he had learned to be a lot less liberal, making him seem a lot more human.

Jaime beamed hearing the scarab’s analysis. He was making much quicker process than he had been expecting to. Bart would have been proud about how fast he had figured out the first step of his proposal. This was amazing. It already felt like a huge weight had been lifted.

“The Boostle Beach it is then.” Jaime knew it was a romantic setting, with a sentimental memory attached to it. You couldn’t get much better than that.

“Jaime Reyes, you should propose just before sunset.” The scarab was well aware of the positive pull the phenomenon had on the human physiology from prior scans around sundown.

Jaime grinned and nodded enthusiastically, “¡Es una gran idea! Good job, Scarab!”

“Thank you, Jaime Reyes.”

Jaime would have clasped his hands together if they were free, indicative of his drive to continue scheming. And he did. His mind kept supplying one helpful idea after the next.   
He could pack a picnic basket full of Bart’s favorite snacks (Chicken Whizees being the number one favorite). Maybe even bring some bottles of the cider Bart liked. The speedster metabolism prevented Bart from ever getting drunk, but he just loved the taste of a premium, wild berries flavored cider. Jaime would bring a few soft beach towels for them to sit on to avoid getting too sandy. He would cover all the stops to ensure maximum comfort at all times.

As long as Bart thought it was a real date, Jaime would be able to spring the special surprise on the speedster like he wanted. Jaime knew his impressive start on planning was far from complete, but he was satisfied enough now to stop. He had earned himself the very same sleep that Bart was currently cashing in on. And with that, Jaime gently laid his head backwards onto the couch cushion with a happy sigh. 

It didn’t take long for him to become as dead to the world as Bart was, but he was nothing but ecstatic, even in his sleeping state.


	2. Drowning In Distraction

The days flew by as quickly as the flip of a calendar. Every waking second was touched by a proposal related thought. It was imperative for Jaime to make sure each and every detail had been tended to. Jaime couldn’t remember a time where he and his scarab had spoken so much to one another. This was careful, coordinated, collaboration; but unlike the kind they always shared on missions. This was a new relationship, with a new shared goal to take on what they both considered the most important mission of all. It wasn’t easy for Jaime to keep his excitement to himself, but Bart could not find out. That being said, Bart was beginning to notice that his partner’s attention was divided. The final straw came during a brutal blow in a training session.

“Ready Blue?” Conner shifted around in his cargo pants as he made the inquiry. His black, on brand, shirt tightened as he took an intimidating fighting stance.

Bart and the rest of the team stood outside the large sparring ring as they always did during the practice sessions. Jaime had a stellar record of holding his own during the spars, hence why he fought with the senior members from time to time. Sometimes it was Conner, sometimes it was Kaldur or Nightwing. Not all of the supers from their team fought the seniors as they didn’t have the combatant skills to evade and endure. Jaime would fight back, conscious of his methods as he knew he would never forgive himself if he accidentally hurt one of the good guys.

Coincidentally, the fact that the half-Kryptonian clone had to prompt the man in armor twice before beginning, should have been a warning. But the fight went ahead anyway. Bart silently cheered on his boyfriend inside of his head. It was the respectful thing to do. And M’Gann was doing the same.

Jaime was slower than usual to dodge but continued to hold his own until he had suddenly come up with a new idea relating to the special night - where he would propose to the love of his life - at the most inconvenient time. The thought that had floated its way up from the abyss of ideas, was that the pair could take a photograph at the beginning of the evening. That way, they’d always have a photographic reminder of that incredible night to look back on. He could even have it printed and framed on their bedside table as a reminder of the romantic evening that had forever changed both of their lives for the better.

Conner struck a knuckled fist straight to Jaime’s chest; a punch that the beetle warrior would usually have shielded or even flown away from well in advance; but his brain had been too preoccupied with his amazing new idea. 

Everyone, including the clone himself, gasped in horror as Jaime took the powerful punch directly to the chest and was flung across the room in a graceful arc; that was until he hit the wall and bounced off of it like a bug that had been flicked like it was nothing.

Bart’s jaw forced itself open in a gasp as his heart stopped beating. His feet found themselves right by Jaime’s side only a nanosecond later. “Jaime! Are you alright?!”

The speedster’s hands clamped down on Jaime’s shoulders and squeezed lightly for a response. While he waited for a sign from his injured partner who laid sprawled out on the floor, his worried eyes darted around the dent in the damaged cobalt chestplate, inspecting for any signs of blood, or worse. 

Jaime groaned in pain and rolled his head around a bit before blinking the initial shock away. Khaji Da began slowly retracting the armor to allow Bart access to his partner. After all, the beetle had served its primary purpose of taking the brunt of the blow. Thankfully the majority of kinetic energy had been absorbed by the sentient scarab. The nanotechnology would form the armor perfectly again upon the next encasing. 

Jaime swallowed as he spoke to Khaji Da who was assessing him. The emergency body scan thankfully revealed that there was no damage to any organs or any other parts of Jaime’s body. The beetle even predicted that there wouldn’t even be any bruising. Jaime was one lucky man, that was for sure.

Now that the armor had fully retracted to its shell sanctuary, Bart’s hands jumped to cradle Jaime’s jawlines. “Jaime!” Bart was desperate for a response. His tone screamed justified impatience. Bart was trying his best not to look up at the crater in the wall while he waited for Jaime to respond.

Jaime coughed and then put Bart’s heart at rest with a relieving smile, “I’m okay amorcito.”

Bart let out a heavy breath of relief and wrapped Jaime in a tight hug, “Thank god!”

Jaime winced a little under the pressure, his chest still a tad sensitive to the speedster’s pressing passion. The shorter immediately withdrew with a sharp inhale, “Sorry!”

Jaime laughed dryly, “It’s okay carino.”

“Is Khaji Da okay?” Bart quickly addressed his secondary concern. No offence to the beetle, but Jaime was well and truly his primary concern.

“Si.” Jaime forced himself to sit up.

“Please don’t ever mode me like that again!” Bart’s shaky shamrock irises pleaded with Jaime’s sorry sienna.

“Lo siento mi amor. I’ll try not to.” Jaime stood up with a helping hand from his boyfriend.

The rest of the team had finally arrived by Jaime’s side, having run over to check on him. And yes, Conner truly had sent Jaime flying that far across the building. He was one powerful man.

“Are you alright Jaime?” A guilty Conner was the first to break the silence.

“Si. Scarab scanned me and I’m completed fine.” Jaime assured Conner with a smile that was almost as strong as he was.

“I’m really sorry Jaime-” Conner started trying to apologise to the man he had struck square in the chest, before he was cut off by said man.

“It’s okay.” Jaime held up a forgiving hand, “It was my fault. I wasn’t concentrating.”

Nightwing stepped forward out of the crowd that had gathered.

“Sorry Jaime, but I think you need to take some time off to get your head right.” His tone was apologetic but also stern. “I’m just glad this happened during training and not in the field. Take the next week off.”

Jaime wanted to protest out of instinct, but ultimately, Nightwing was right. Not to mention, he could actually use that week to plan his proposal more efficiently and effectively. Jaime nodded and tried to look disappointed whilst he accepted the ‘punishment’, “Si.”

Bart looked somewhat taken aback by the surprise suspension, but he was glad Nightwing was putting safeguards in place to protect what was most precious to him. And Bart couldn’t just ignore Jaime’s recent admission either. 

Bart took Jaime’s hand in his own and looked at Nightwing. “Can I  _ also  _ have the next week off too? I’m not going to be able to concentrate either until I get to the bottom of this.” Bart technically hadn’t used the word ‘please’ in his request, but his eyes said it for him.

Nightwing wasn’t too thrilled to be losing two members of his team in the same day, but he knew how much Bart cared about Jaime and that he would also be all over the shop worrying about his boyfriend’s mental health. The man nodded with a heavy sigh knowing he didn’t really have a choice in the matter anyway.

“Thanks.” Bart gave Nightwing a grateful look, which quickly turned into an apologetic look for taking the leave of absence he knew Dick wasn’t happy about.

Bart suddenly looked over at Jaime with resolve. Jaime’s eyes widened in concern. He knew what he was in for as Bart began marching him away from the team. They all watched with cringing on Jaime’s behalf, knowing he was likely about to be chewed out for his carelessness.

Once the double set of doors clicked shut behind the pair exiting the gymnasium of the new Hall of Justice, the rest of the team returned to sparring. Bart continued to lead Jaime further down the hallway by the hand. There was a particular room Bart was praying would be empty, so that he and his boyfriend could share a private conversation. Once reaching the door with a rectangular glass window above the handle, Bart peered in. To his relief, the room was empty; so he opened the door quickly and dragged Jaime in after himself.

Bart wasted no time jumping down Jaime’s throat. “Jaime. What happened back there?! You could have gotten killed!” Bart was almost shrieking, and the scarab was warning Jaime of Bart’s dangerously high heart rate  _ and  _ blood pressure.

Jaime reached forward quickly and grabbed Bart’s biceps tenderly, “Bart, please calm down.”

Bart took a deep breath, “Sorry.” He took another breath. “I’m sorry.”

“No.  _ I’m  _ sorry.” Jaime rubbed Bart’s arms apologetically. He hated that he had accidentally caused Bart’s to have near heart failure and panic over his well being.

Bart tried again much more calmly this time. “Jaime... What’s going on with you? Why were you so distracted?” Bart looked dangerously deep into Jaime’s eyes.

Jaime swallowed, scared that Bart was only seconds away from peeking around enough inside of his mind; to discover the freestanding bulletin board scattered with notes about the proposal he was planning. 

“It’s nothing for you to worry about carino. I promise!” Jaime’s tone was tender and genuine. He just hoped it would be enough to get Bart to back down. He should have known better. Bart was not going to rest until he knew with absolute certainty that Jaime was okay.

Bart linked their hands and moved in closer so that they were standing almost chest to chest. “Jaime please. Tell me what’s going on.” There was nothing more dangerous than Bart begging. The speedster continued, “I’ve noticed that you’ve been distant as of late. You’ve been talking to Khaji Da a lot more than usual. Do I need to be worried?”

Jaime’s heart was being wrenched open seeing the fear in Bart’s forlorn, fern green irises. His tone conveyed the guilt now eating him alive. “I promise you. There’s nothing to worry about.” Jaime hesitated as he tried to find the right words to Bart at ease, but  _ without  _ lying to him. Jaime swallowed and began talking without thinking it through because he didn’t want to take too long to answer. He was just hoping he could think of something while he was talking. “I’ve just- I’ve been thinking a lot about the future.”

Bart’s face dropped immediately as he took a wrong turn and charged towards the wrong context. 

“Jaime-” he sighed sadly- “I’ve told you countless times. I’ve forgiven you for all of that. And it wasn’t even you in the first place!” Bart turned and looked away as he failed to fight off the tears that came from the trip down memory lane. The speedster was tired, there were only so many times he could tell Jaime that their past had no influence on his feelings for him.

Jaime blubbered his mouth in horror at the can of worms he had unintentionally opened. He knew he had to tread carefully with his wording. “I know… I know that. I- I’m so sorry carino.” Jaime pulled his partner flush against him and hugged him like there was no tomorrow. He felt awful. He couldn’t believe he had accidentally brought Bart to the brink of tears. That was literally the most painful thing in the world to witness. Jaime tried his best to comfort Bart by rubbing soothing circles on his back and whispering quiet comforts.

“I’m sorry for getting emotional.” Bart sniffed and gave an attempt at a half-laugh, “That’s not crash at all. I’m probably just making it harder for you to deal with whatever is bothering you.”

Jaime’s annoyed tone caught Bart off guard, “First of all, don’t you dare apologise for crying.” Jaime’s face relaxed as he continued in a much softer tone, “Second, you can always lean on me.  _ Always _ , amorcito.”

Bart smiled shyly in appreciation. Jaime was relieved to see it had grown after he had pulled back from having placed an apologetic kiss on the speedster’s forehead.

Jaime pulled Bart closer still before speaking up again, “And I’m sorry I’ve been distracted lately... But you know what? I’m not sorry that I’ve just gotten a whole week off to spend with you.” Jaime reached up and smiled as he rubbed a thumb across the speedster’s cheek, wiping away one of the tears that had gone for a run.

“A week together will be pretty crash.” Bart smiled at the thought of the gift in disguise.

“Think of all that time we now get to spend together.” Jaime beamed brightly before leaning in for a kiss on the lips this time.

When they parted, Bart asked the question that was still nagging away at his conscience. “And you  _ promise  _ that Khaji Da found absolutely nothing wrong with you during his scan?” Bart prepared to perform a scan of his own, on Jaime’s face. He readied himself to search intensely for any signs of dishonesty.

Jaime smiled reassuringly, “Khaji Da said I wouldn’t even get any bruises! I am completely crash carino! I promise.” Bart tried not to melt as he looked into the honest umber irises that swirled with love before him. And the speedster nearly lost it as Jaime pressed their foreheads together to slowly repeat his sworn word once more, “I promise.”

“Well in that case, you’re not off the hook for giving me heart failure earlier.” Bart grinned.

Jaime smirked and slapped a seductive filter over his already irresistibly sexy accent, “I can think of a way to make it up to you.”

Actually, Jaime could think of two, but the second thing would have to wait until all the plans were in place, so option one would have to do for now. And he certainly didn’t have a problem with that either. 

Bart scooped up his boyfriend carefully, weary of the fact he was probably still a tad tender. “Well I guess we better get home then, now that we’re  _ off duty _ .”

Jaime made a show of wrapping his arms around Bart’s neck, “I think that’s a  _ very  _ good idea.”

The two knowing grins that were there one second - creating an atmosphere as hot as a grill plate - were gone the next.


	3. Reassuring The Shore

Jaime was now on day one of his magical vacation with Bart. His sparring slip up had been the best mistake he had made in a long time. He had made a conscious effort to only talk to Khaji Da regarding the proposal when Bart was not physically present or was asleep. He knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he stressed out the love of his life to tears once more. He had also decided that he would propose to Bart on the sixth night of their vacation (Saturday), leaving the seventh day bare; as he imagined the both of them would be.

Bart had just returned from a speedster run. He had gone to collect the takeaway that the pair had ordered for lunch from a nearby restaurant that they were both particularly fond of. 

Bart’s arms slithered around Jaime’s neck, “I’m back, babe.” The loving speedster left a trail of kisses up Jaime’s neck.

Jaime chuckled before smirking as he delivered some cheek to his boyfriend, “Bit slower than usual carino.”

Bart couldn’t help but fall into the trap even though he was fully aware of it. “There was a wait on the food babe. I’m  _ still  _ the fastest man alive.” The leer warned Jaime against another misstep.

Jaime ignored the warning, and grinned at Bart; his eyes twinkling in a merciless mirth, “If you say so…”

Bart’s eyes flared with a brazen playfulness as he accepted the challenge to his reputation. Using his super speed, Bart charged into Jaime and carried him into their bedroom before throwing him against their bed. Jaime began to bounce, but Bart was so quick, that he even pushed Jaime back down into the mattress before even gravity could get to him. Bart leaned into his boyfriend with all of his weight, and flashed a smoldering smirk, “Convinced now babe?”

Jaime swallowed as he looked up feeling a bit flustered knowing that Bart could make him a mess if he wanted to, so he knew it was probably a good idea to stop trying to provoke him into showing off his speed. “Si.” Jaime chuckled apologetically, “Lo siento, carino.”

A beaming Jaime went to get up but found Bart’s palm lovingly holding him down in place in the middle of his chest, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To eat our lunch before it gets cold?” Jaime raised an eyebrow and laughed in disbelief.

“I’m hungry for something else now.” Bart simpered as he slowly ran his hand up to Jaime’s neck. It was Bart’s way of showing a kiss wasn’t far off.

Jaime rolled his eyes and laughed as he let his head fall back into his pillow. “Okay, that was kind of my fault.” Jaime was big enough to admit when he was wrong.

“Oh, completely!” Bart emphasized the point like it was the most obvious thing ever.

Bart tilted his head and gave Jaime the look.

“Alright!” Jaime grinned, “But let's be quick. I really want to eat my ravioli while it’s still warm.”

“Just a sec.” Bart grinned before disappearing. 

Unbeknownst to Jaime, Bart had run the paper bag with both of their lunches all the way up to the Watchtower. He quickly located Nightwing who happened to be discussing Bruce related matters with Oracle.

“Hey Nightwing! Hey Oracle!” Bart startled the pair from their discussion. “Sorry to interrupt-” Bart grinned apologetically and produced the paper bag from behind his back- “but I brought you two lunch.” Bart quickly rambled an explanation to the shocked expression the pair before him were wearing. “As a peace offering! Jaime and I feel bad about taking time off. So, uhh... Here!” Bart shoved the bag over to Nightwing who took it cautiously. “Enjoy!” Bart saluted the pair before dashing off. Bart had more important things to do than enjoy the hilariously confused expression on Dick’s face as he tried to decipher why on Earth Bart would ever share food with him and his partner.

Bart was back on top of Jaime only a moment later, ready to resume where he had pressed pause.

“Where’d you go?” Jaime grinned with intrigue since Bart had been gone too long to have done anything within their house.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Bart grinned and shut Jaime up with a passionate kiss.

Now that Bart had gotten rid of their lunch, Bart was going to drag out the midday tryst as long as he could. And he did. At every possible opportunity, Bart tantalized Jaime into begging for more. By the time they were lying side by side a surprising amount of time later, Jaime laughed in disappointment, “Dios. Our food would be so cold by now. What a waste.”

“Are you saying an early dessert wasn’t worth it?” Bart questioned his boyfriend with a grin as he propped his chin up underneath his wrist.

“Oh it was!” Jaime’s eyes bulged with a desperation to be believed, which only caused Bart to burst into victorious laughter. Bart knew how good he was in bed, in fact, Jaime had mentioned that several times during the act.

“Well you needn’t worry about the food babe. I gave it to Nightwing.” The smirk that came with having successfully distracted Jaime from his food was more enlightening that his admission.

Jaime’s eyes went round. “You shared food with someone that wasn’t me?” He chuckled incredulously, “Wow! You  _ must  _ be in a good mood.”

Bart rolled back onto Jaime’s chest before sultrily stating, “You have no idea.”

“Uhm... Bart.” Jaime sounded nervous to Bart, and it was making the speedster slightly suspicious. “I think- I think we should go on a date night. Y’know, given everything that’s gone recently.” Jaime’s tone was as soft as the silk sheets beneath them.

Bart smiled beautifully and gazed on with dazzling eyes. “Sounds crash.” 

Jaime tried to sound as relaxed and carefree in terms of his suggestions as possible. “How about this Saturday night? At, I don’t know… Boostle Beach?”

“Ooh!” Bart’s eyebrows jumped happily, “I remember our last date there. That was a nice night.” Bart smiled and hummed as he reminisced on the memory. “I’d love to.”

“Awesome.” Jaime wrestled with the gigantic smile that wanted to give away that he was perhaps a little too happy that everything was working perfectly to his plan.

The next day, Bart had received a text message from Cassie, summoning him for a conversation for relationship advice. Jaime wished he could take credit for the perfectly timed distraction, but it was purely just fate handing him one. Bart was deliberating over whether to leave his boyfriend during their special week of bonding. He was currently leaning towards going due to Jaime’s encouragement, which was masking behind a wall of support for Cassie. He was able to sell his opinion on the fact that she was a mutual friend of  _ both _ men. Cassie was definitely much closer to Bart though, and Jaime understood completely. In Cassie’s shoes, he would gladly admit that Bart would be his favorite too. He was just so lovable.

“Are you sure you’re okay with me leaving? If you want me to stay I won’t go.” Bart held Jaime’s hands and squeezed them to show he was being serious.

Jaime smiled reassuringly. “It’s okay mi amor. She wants your help. You should go.” 

“Alright, I’ll go. But I’ll try my best to hurry back! I should only be an hour.” Bart looked over at the clock on the wall so that he could keep a track of the time and cut Cassie off if necessary; it was more important that he stayed true to his word to Jaime.

“Okay carino.” Jaime pecked Bart on the lips and smiled goodbye as he waited for the expected just of air signalling he had vanished into thin air. It came a second later.

Jaime suddenly scrambled to his feet and armored up. He quickly flew out the back window of their shared house and up into the clear, blue sky. He needed to be quick if he was going to fly over to the Allen family home and get back before Bart did. He had been pondering whether asking for Barry and Iris’ blessing was necessary, but figured it couldn’t hurt to follow tradition.

Jaime knocked on the sturdy grain of the wooden front door. You’d think he’d be used to the door flying open in a fraction of a second, but he leaned back blinking in surprise as per usual.

“Jaime! I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” A surprised Barry rushed forward and wrapped his grandson’s boyfriend in a welcoming hug. Shortly after, he returned to his place in the door frame before waving him in. “Come on in!”

“Gracias.” Jaime nodded and followed after the blonde speedster. The two men walked down into the kitchen where Iris was unsurprisingly reading a newspaper at the table. Jaime had often been brought over by Bart, only to discover Iris with her head buried in a newspaper.

“Hola Iris.” Jaime smiled warmly and walked over to give her a hug as well.

“Jaime! It’s so good to see you.” Iris stood quickly and gave Jaime the hug he had come over for. She sat back down and gestured at the closest empty chair. “Take a seat.”

After sitting, Jaime swallowed nervously as he looked back and forth between two curious sets of eyes wondering why he was there. 

Jaime ran his hand over his short cropped charcoal hair. “I uhm... I wanted to run something past you two.”

“Sure! What is it?” Barry leaned forward on his forearm causing the table to creak.

Jaime sat in silence as he tried to summon up the courage to ask. He wasn’t sure why it was so hard given that he had very little doubt that either of them would oppose his request. He supposed it was because speedsters were ridiculously protective. He just hoped that Barry would be okay. It did also feel weird to be asking Barry instead of Don, but there was nothing Jaime could do about that situation. “Dios.” Jaime wiped his forehead nervously. “It’s about Bart and I.”

Barry instantly misread the nerves and gasped in horror, “Jaime... You’re not breaking up with Bart are you?”

Jaime’s eyes shot open to mirror Barry’s own. “¿Qué? ¡No!” Jaime spat the vile thought out in a sudden outburst of disgust.

Barry and Iris - who had been wearing a heartbroken expression once the thought had been thrown out there - relaxed their tense faces and sighed in relief.

“Thank god!” Barry exclaimed. He felt his protective instincts beginning to calm down again. He immediately offered up the apology with his sincere tone and piercing blue eyes.

Jaime, who was still shuddering internally from the awful thought, had to shake his head to exercise that demon fully. He quietly accepted Barry’s apology before taking a deep breath, “I would never break up with Bart. In fact, I actually came here today to ask for both of your blessings.”

“Blessing for wha- Oh.” Barry’s eyes widened, “ _ Oh. _ ”

Jaime watched on waiting for a verbal answer from the pair knowing that even if he got a ‘no’ he would still be going through with his plan. Nobody was going to keep him and Bart apart.

The older speedster’s eyes widened as he glanced over at his wife. He suddenly grinned his answer, and judging by the matching smirk Iris was wearing, she reciprocated Barry’s feelings on the matter.

“Jaime.” The speedster said his name louder than necessary to gain his attention, “There’s no one else we’d rather have marry Bart.” Barry reached over and clasped Jaime’s shoulder tightly. “You have both of our blessings.  _ Well and truly _ .” The blonde man beamed in unison with his wife. It was clear they were both thrilled for Bart  _ and  _ him.

Jaime’s head slid forward as he released a breath of relief, “Gracias.” He managed to eradicate the remaining nerves lingering in his chest by laughing them away quietly.

Iris began tearing up ever slightly - it was almost unnoticeable - and reached over to rest her hand over Barry’s. “Bart’s going to be so, so happy.”

“I’m so excited for you Jaime.” Even Barry now looked like he had been splashed in the face with a bucket of raw emotion.

“I wish I could be there to see Bart’s face.” Iris grinned and shook her head. “Jaime you  _ have  _ to tell me if he cries so I can poke fun at him later if he does.” 

Jaime laughed at the reporter and wondered how Bart would feel about the proposition. Barry certainly looked entertained by her remark too.

“Lo siento. But… I should go before Bart gets back home, but please, don’t mention this to  _ anybody _ .” Jaime’s eyes begged for their sworn vow to protect his secret.

Barry reached up with his hand to mime the closing of an imaginary zip across his lips. “Our lips are sealed Jaime.”

Jaime grinned at the dorky way Barry had agreed. But he was still very happy to see Iris nodding in agreement. “Gracias.” Jaime stood up and strode over to the exit of the kitchen intending to let himself out. He waved happily with his right hand, “Adios. Wish me luck.”

“You won’t need it Jaime.” Barry smiled warmly and held up a hand to say goodbye.

“Bye Jaime.” The reporter raised a hand to her chest to show how emotional she still was over the news.

Jaime hurried out of the kitchen and headed towards the back of the house, jogging out into the backyard, before armoring up and flying away. He knew he had come in through the front door on arrival, but he always did that. He couldn’t bring himself to show up in their backyard and march in through the back, it felt weird. But he always left through the back to avoid the danger that was armoring up discreetly in their front yard smothered in greenery.


	4. Trying Not To Spill

Jaime could barely keep it together across the week as it passed. But the walking pile of unstable atoms had managed to make it to Saturday. Tonight was the night. He had wanted to make the picnic on the beach a surprise, but he was weary of the fact that Bart would get suspicious if he treated it differently to any other date night. And usually, he would be fully transparent regarding his date plans out of a compelling sense of coordination. It was a superhero thing. Usually the surprises they were used to weren’t so nice. And Bart was a smart man, if he caught even the slightest sense of suspicious activity, Jaime would be made.

Choosing to be as smooth as the suede couch they were both cuddling on, after having consumed a very filling breakfast - that Bart had so lovingly prepared - Jaime slid into his innocent acting role. “Hey carino?”

Bart swiveled his head on Jaime’s chest to meet the eyes belonging to that affectionate accent, “Yes  _ babe _ ?”

Jaime started showering his laughter onto Bart’s face. Bart beamed with joy, reveling in seeing Jaime so happy. But he couldn’t help but ask through his own confused laugh, “What’s so funny?”

“You.” Jaime smirked, “You’re just-” Jaime sighed happily and used the tip of his forefinger to drag some of Bart’s fringe out of the way of his precious eyes- “so adorable.”

Bart squinted with suspicion before mocking his boyfriend, “ _ Adorable _ huh?”

“Si, amor.” Jaime smiled warmly.

“One might even say-” Bart’s tone went from normal to playful- “ _ amor-able _ ?”

Jaime’s head raised as he inhaled and multitasked by rolling his eyes. When his sights had returned to the speedster, he spoke up softly, “You’re lucky I love you so much.”

“Yes I am.” There was not an ounce of playfulness in his tone, it was all genuinity. The cheek however came crashing back on his face, but his tone remained serious as he proclaimed, “I love you so much too.”

Jaime looked down at Bart’s lips with that telltale look of forewarning that he was going in for a kiss. And that look sent a bolt of electricity down Bart’s spine every single time he saw it. Bart surged forward with his super speed, unable to wait for his slow boyfriend to meet him all the way there. Jaime’s eyes shot open as Bart took his lips by surprise, but quickly crinkled; and the part pulled apart laughing.

“I see you’re  _ still  _ not used to the speed kisses… after all these years.” Bart mocked his boyfriend playfully.

“Lo siento, amorcito.” Jaime chuckled guiltily.

“Oh well…” Bart sighed dramatically. “It just means we have to keep practicing.”

“Fine by me carino.” Jaime grinned as Bart came in for a much more - intentionally - slower kiss.

When they pulled apart, Jaime got back to the point since he had allowed his devilishly charming boyfriend to distract him completely. He had almost forgotten tonight was the night.

Returning back to his innocent and casual tone, Jaime carelessly tossed out the question to Bart with a hidden life ring, because he was not letting the idea drown should Bart have chosen not to save it. “So amorcito, I was thinking we could have a picnic on the beach tonight? What do you think?”

Of course Bart being the superhero he was, rescued the idea. “Sounds crash.”

“So did you want to come shopping with me and pick what you want, or did you just want me to pick out some stuff?”

Bart ran his hand over the breath of Jaime’s chest possessively and grinned, “I couldn’t possibly let you go to the shops all by yourself! You’ll get lonely!”

“So it wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that there’s food involved?” Jaime raised a challenging eyebrow. He was of course just engaging in banter. He knew that Bart loved him more than food. But damn, his speedster boyfriend certainly did love his food that was for sure.

Making a small gap between his fingers, Bart joked, “Maybe just a little bit?”

“Alright… Well you can go shopping then without me and I’ll just stay here.” Jaime deadpanned.

Bart decided to ham it up - and after shaking the imagery of perfect slices of fresh ham that immediately came to mind - he hurled himself dramatically over Jaime like a blanket on the chilliest of winter’s nights; before dramatically singing, “No!”

The pair chuckled in a laugh and eventually got up off the couch to leave for the grocery store. Bart picked up his boyfriend and ran them both over to their local grocery store. Of course, Bart came to a stop beside the building in a discreet location. The pair walked around to the front of the building mentally switching to civilian mode. The pair linked hands and walked in, only separating when Jaime had to get a shopping cart.

Bart gasped the second he noticed his favorite part about the shopping experience. “Ooh! Babe look! Free samples!”

Jaime chuckled at the glint in his boyfriend’s eyes and followed after him with the shopping cart so that the pair could indulge in Bart’s passion for free food. The retail employee was offering a brand new kind of ice cream that was supposedly free of sugar as well as a bunch of other things. The list was so long that Jaime lost track of them all. The two men took a cup each and walked off - after thanking the man - to continue shopping.

“Date night  _ and  _ free samples, all in the same day! Could this day get any better?” Bart batted his eyes at Jaime comically for a moment. Jaime grinned knowing the answer to that question, but kept the answer close to his chest, right by his - beating harder than usual - heart.

Jaime rolled his eyes as he listened to the sounds of ecstasy Bart was making whilst savoring each and every mouthful of the ice cream. But the smile on Jaime’s face remained frozen in place. Bart turned back to face Jaime when he had licked the paper cup cleaner than it had been to begin with, and licked the cream off his lips. Jaime had only taken one bite of his ice cream as he had been busy multitasking and pushing the shopping cart.

The glances Bart couldn’t help but make, caught Jaime’s attention pretty quickly. “Would you like the rest of my ice cream?” Jaime grinned.

Bart looked at Jaime as if he were a god. The look of utter gratefulness melted Jaime’s heart around the edges. The speedster nodded quickly and took the cup, choosing to dive into the dessert without hesitation. Bart thanked his boyfriend with a hug after finishing the treat. Bart loved the hell out of Jaime, and continued to gaze at him adoringly for the remainder of the shop. Bart made sure he not only got all his favorite foods, but Jaime’s as well. Jaime also bought the pair their favorite cider to share.

Returning to their drop off point as per tradition, Jaime stood still and looked after the countless bags of groceries as Bart carefully ran them back to their shared apartment in separate shifts, before returning to take Jaime home at the end.

“When we’re about to leave, we can pop it all into the eski. And I can fly us there. How does that sound carino?”

“Like a crash plan to me babe.” Bart winked at Jaime before putting all the groceries away where they belonged in a blur. Once he was done, he crashed back into Jaime’s personal space. “So… What are we going to do until date night?”

“Whatever you want amor.”

Bart beamed up at Jaime’s soft expression of peace. He looked so at peace and relaxed.

“I don’t care what we do… As long as we’re together.” 

Jaime watched as Bart’s expression of awe leaned out of sight following the head now resting on his chest.

“How about we just lie down and cuddle?” Jaime’s suggestion was based on the fact that he loved Bart’s hugs. They were the warmest gifts anybody could ever receive, literally and figuratively.

“Dibs small spoon!” Bart dashed off into their bedroom, leaving a chuckling Jaime behind.

Jaime ran after his boyfriend in his socks, jumping onto the bed with speedster-like energy before snuggling up close to Bart. It took a second before Bart wriggled around to face Jaime.

“Carino, you do realize the small spoon is supposed to face the other way?” The big spoon smirked.

Bart only grinned before leering, “Now why would I face the other way, when the view on  _ this  _ side is much more spectacular?”

Jaime’s eyelids came to a natural close as he chuckled heartily at the witty remark. Adoring sienna sparkled back at the speedster upon reopening, “I love you my little backwards spoon.”

Bart had no witty retort in response. He surprised himself by doing the most unexpected thing. He found his cheeks burning at the cuteness of Jaime’s simple remark. He bit his lip in embarrassment over the blush, creating the most beautiful image for Jaime’s eyes to appreciate.

“Te amo.” Jaime leaned forward and kissed Bart on the forehead, and was surprised to learn that the heat from the speedster’s cheeks had reached just below his hairline. 

“I love you more.” Bart grinned as he snuggled tightly into Jaime.

“Impossible.” Jaime whispered into the mass of auburn hair hugging his face.

Jaime was incredibly tempted to pull back and pop the question then and there. But that would have been too easy. So he settled for arguing with Bart as a distraction. The pair continued to argue over who loved who more until they found themselves yawning. Eventually, the pair accidentally fell asleep without even having meant to.

Khaji Da let the pair sleep the day away until there was slightly over an hour before sunset. The beetle played pleasant beeping sounds in Jaime’s mind to wake him up peacefully without startling him. Jaime slowly came to life.

_ “Apologies for waking you up Jaime Reyes, but the sunset is fast approaching. You should wake the Bart Allen up, and travel to the beach as soon as possible.” _

Hearing the reminder about the sunset - the natural phenomenon who waited for no one - Jaime suddenly woke up.

_ “Gracias, Scarab.” _

Jaime looked at Bart sleeping peacefully in his arms and smiled. He cringed as he braced for the self-inflicted pain that would come with waking up his boyfriend.

Jaime tried whispering one of his many pet names to wake Bart up, “Amorcito?”

Bart shifted and snuggled deeper into Jaime. His hairs were tickling Jaime’s face and making it nearly impossible not to laugh Bart awake. Jaime persisted until he got Bart to wake up, upon which he apologized profusely. Bart assured him it was okay.

“It’s time to go to the beach mi amor.” Jaime smiled warmly at Bart who had woken up surprisingly quickly.

“Let’s get ready then!” Bart cheered cutely before he tore out of the bed, eager to get the pair packed and ready to go.

“Carino! Wait for me!” Jaime chuckled incredulously as he ran out after his boyfriend. Jaime smiled like he never had before loving the irony of how Bart always had him (the non-speedster) chasing after him. And in the not too distant future, Jaime was going to be chasing after Bart again, after the most important answer of his life.


	5. The Overwhelming Wave Of Affection

“We’re all ready to go!” Bart’s excited exclamation was muffled against Jaime’s chest, where the speedster spent a surprising amount of time hugging his partner. Bart’s muffled hugging-speech was almost its own language, but luckily Jaime had come quite fluent in it.

“Crash.” Jaime grinned down at the smile that beamed on Bart’s face at hearing his boyfriend use his lingo. The Latino liked to save that move for special occasions, and tonight was indeed one for sure.

The pair headed out into the backyard with the eski, where Jaime armored up. He wrapped Bart in his arms and held the heavy tub in his linked hands, ensuring Bart was tightly pressed against him. “Hold on tight mi amor.” Jaime warned.

“As if you need to tell me that.” Bart leered, as he made a show of grabbing Jaime intimately. The pair burst out into laughter over Bart’s showiness of it all, not even the speedster could keep a straight face.

Khaji Da activated the jetpack and the pair took off like a rocket. Once high enough, Jaime carefully leveled himself out to be parallel with the horizon he was flying towards. It took some careful maneuvering, but Bart was able to crawl into Jaime’s arms midair.

“Just don’t drop the food babe.” Bart warned with a stern finger.

“Yeah, yeah.” Jaime rolled his eyes with a grin.

The pair soared through the sky elegantly. Bart was grinning knowingly at Jaime who was gazing down at him lovingly. Bart felt so special and just wanted to kiss Jaime, but his faceplate was in the way. So Bart chuckled as he leaned up and kissed Jaime’s faceplate.

“That was for you Khaji.” Bart wriggled a hand free to tap the faceplate, before politely requesting, “Would it be possible for me to kiss the dashing man underneath here too?”

Jaime grinned and gave the mental command to his scarab to retract the faceplate entirely, freeing his entire head. The dashing man had barely had time to adjust to the - thankfully - warm breeze gliding over his face, before Bart’s lips were on his own. When Bart pulled away from the ridiculously passionate kiss leaving a flustered Jaime behind, he swallowed. “Gracias.”

Bart chuckled, “You’re welcome.”

“Scarab also said thanks for his kiss too.” Jaime shyly trot out the message his scarab has asked him to pass along. It meant a lot to him that Bart still loved him despite Khaji Da. Jaime had certainly felt like a freak to begin with, but Bart had helped him to feel as normal about it as possible whilst also respecting Khaji Da’s feelings. Jaime had already made the beetle feel like a burden at the beginning. But the fact of the matter was, they were both stuck together now whether they like it or not. And Jaime loved that Bart had made the best of the situation and had even gotten into Khaji Da’s good books. Jaime knew from experience, there was nothing worse than spending time with someone Khaji Da didn’t like. The scarab used to never stop complaining. And Bart had done Jaime a great service, helping soften the scarab up.

Bart grinned, “What can I say? I love to keep you both happy.”

_ “Jaime Reyes, you have found the perfect mate. I am glad you are proposing to him.” _

_ “I know, and so am I.” _

The pair continued to talk about anything and everything on their flight over. It didn’t take too long for them to reach the beach, upon which, Jaime was surprised when Bart spoke up suddenly when he began descending down onto the private beach.

“Wait a second babe. Can you keep going? I want to find a nice part of the beach for us.” Bart smiled as he looked back at Jaime, both of his pupils on their knees begging in an ocean of green.

Jaime smiled, “Sure.”

Jaime watched as Bart scanned the beach with the most adorable look of intensity. Bart suddenly pointed, “There! That’s the spot!”

Following orders, Jaime directed his scarab to the approximate golden span of sand Bart had pointed out. The pair landed gracefully and Jaime placed the eski down with a crunch.

“This is perfect.” Bart smiled over at Jaime before setting the entire picnic out in the blink of an eye.

Jaime grinned as his brain caught up to acknowledge the picnic blanket - with a water resistant laminated cotton fabric backing - spread out on the sand. The food and drinks had been set out along the side, leaving the majority of the checkered blanket free for the pair to sprawl out over. Bart was sitting cross legged tapping a hand beside him, begging for Jaime to join him.

Jaime hurried on over to sit beside his boyfriend, who instantly leaned on his side. Jaime reached over into the eski and fished around for two of the wine glasses, before turning to face Bart, “Care for a drink carino?”

“Actually, yes. That would be pretty crash. I'm quite thirsty!” Bart began to stand up.

“What are you doing?” Jaime’s jaw slackened in confusion.

Bart pointed at the salt water ahead and answered seriously, “I’m going to get a drink from the ocean?”

“Ay dios mio.” Jaime’s hopeless smile betrayed the face palm that followed his joke.

“What? Not funny huh?” Bart leered as he sat back down in Jaime’s lap.

“Not really no.” Jaime grinned.

Bart leaned over and took the sweating, glass bottle from Jaime’s hand before wrapping his hand around the cork and vibrating it at just the right frequency. “I guess then I will have to try-” Bart flicked the cork out succinctly with his thumb causing a suave popping sound- “harder.” Bart moved the neck of the bottle to his mouth so that he could lick a line up the trail of fizz that had erupted out of the opening.

“Was that funny?” Bart grinned as he raised an eyebrow.

“No. That was just… hot.” Jaime swallowed before snatching the bottle, “Give me that.” Bart laughed as Jaime took a large swig of the bottle. Once, he had regained control of his derailed thoughts - no thanks to Bart - Jaime poured them each a glass. 

Jaime stopped Bart before he could take his first sip, “A toast. To us.”

Bart grinned and the pair clinked their glasses together before finally taking their first sips. The pair continued to talk as the sunset crept closer and closer. In addition to the cider, the pair burnt through the majority of the packed snacks that had accompanied them on their trip.

“I don’t think we brought enough Chicken Whizees…” Bart brushed the orange doodle dust off his hands onto the sand.

Jaime only grinned at the man sitting between his legs, “Amorcito, there aren’t enough bags of Chicken Whizees to fill the ocean right there-” Jaime unwrapped a hand from around Bart’s waist to point ahead of them- “to satisfy your craving.”

“Oh, I know.” Bart chuckled.

_ “Jaime Reyes, the sunset is upon us.” _ Khaji Da announced.

Jaime leaned forward and rested his chin on Bart’s shoulder, before sighing happily. “I remember our last date here… And I’ve got to say. I think tonight was better.”

“Way better babe.” Bart looked over at Jaime and smiled.

Jaime could see the sunset in Bart’s eyes. All the colors were mixed together in the most beautiful assortment of shades of green known to man. The wind was delicately picking up and lowering Bart’s hair, reminding Jaime of all the ups and down of life. And the smile that bloomed on Bart’s face made Jaime grateful, because that smile was all he needed to forget about all the bad in the world.

Jaime smiled back and watched as Bart seemingly became even happier. Bart was admiring Jaime’s beautiful sun-kissed skin, his warm cocoa eyes, and the slight sway of his short cropped hair. Bart’s lips parted in a desperate attempt to speak his mind, but nothing came out. He was incomprehensibly happy. He was speechless.

And like the shore, Bart and Jaime found themselves being pulled together without even knowing it. It was so slow, but the pair’s gaze pulled them all the way together until their lips met in the softest clash ever. Jaime pulled away delicately and smiled before standing up and offering Bart his hand.

As Jaime helped him up, the speedster chuckled as he lost his footing in the sand, dizzy from desire. The pair chuckled together as Jaime helped Bart upright again. Bart brushed his legs off and stood up, “Sorry babe. I think I need to stretch my legs. Be right back.” Bart placed a tender kiss on Jaime’s cheek.

Jaime nodded and smiled as he watched Bart dash up and down the beach before returning back to him in the blink of an eye. Bart crashed into him with a hug, knocking them both over into the sand. They both made “oof” sounds.

“Did you miss me babe?” Bart leered.

“More than ever before.” Jaime answered so softly that the waves almost drowned him out.

Jaime knew it wasn’t conventional, but he couldn’t wait any longer. He never thought he’d end up proposing whilst laying entrenched in the sand. But he knew Bart wouldn’t care that he wasn’t down on one knee. So long as Jaime popped the question, he knew that Bart would be happy.

“Bart Allen.” Jaime dragged in a steadying breath. Despite laying down, looking at Bart in this moment was making him weak in the knees. Jaime locked eyes with Bart, and it was clear he had the speedster’s undivided attention. “You’ve already made me the happiest man alive-” eight words was all it took until his eyes were glazed in tears- “and I know you’d do anything to make me happy. You’ve proved it time and time again. I just hope I make you as happy. And that being said… I have a question for you…”

Bart’s hand shot up to cover his mouth horizontally and hide his trembling lip. His eyes were heavily coated in tears, so heavily so, he had to sit up quickly to stop them from dripping into Jaime’s face. Bart quickly wiped the tears away, not wanting to take his eyes off of Jaime for a moment. He was just glad to see Jaime had chased after him. Bart smiled apologetically for having had to sit up. Jaime smiled back to let him know it was okay. It made it easier for him to reach into his pocket anyway. Once he unfurled the fingers concealing a pair of silver bands hiding in the palm of his hand, he asked the million dollar question. “Will you marry me?”

Bart nodded his teary eyes and grinned, “Doi.”

Jaime let out the breath he had been holding and let out a singular chuckle. He clumsily fumbled about with the closest of the identical rings, through his blurry vision, and slid the silver band over Bart’s ring finger.

“Can I?” Bart gestured at the remaining ring.

“Si.” Jaime smiled as Bart returned the favor and slid the remaining ring onto his finger.

With the explosive energy that had nearly killed him in terms of being patient, Bart surged forward to kiss Jaime. Bart kissed with all the longing he had always had for Jaime. Years of patience, of waiting for this next step, poured out of the speedster. Jaime hummed happily at the overwhelming response. 

Once Bart had actually made room for Jaime to have a turn, the Latino shared all his love in the lip lock too. Their arms were loosely wrapped around one another, as they remained sitting up on the sand with their legs crossed. The position was relatively easy to kiss through, but Bart could do one better. He quickly, but gently, pushed Jaime backwards into the sand and laid down on top of him.

Jaime laughed for the brief second Bart’s lustful lips weren’t on his own. Jaime felt Bart’s lips smile against him as they multitasked, thanking Jaime for popping the question over and over again. Since Jaime’s head was buried in the sand, he couldn’t pull away for air, and that's how Bart wanted it. He didn’t want to give his  _ now-fiance _ a chance to pull away until he was done thanking him for making his dreams come true. And Jaime knew it, and was more than okay with it.


	6. Their Love Runs Deep

It took quite a while for Bart to calm down, but he had mercy on Jaime who was beginning to seem short of breath. When Bart pulled away, he bit his lip as he stared down at a flustered, but beaming Jaime, “I love you more than anything.” 

The half buried, half-breathing man managed to chuckle. “I feel the exact same way amor.”

“Thank you for asking me Jaime.” Bart sounded silk soft.

“Are you kidding?” Jaime chuckled incredulously, “Thank you for saying yes!”

“Jaime, when have I ever said no to you?” Bart leered, “I’d do anything for you.  _ Anything _ .”

Jaime smiled feeling honored. He could see it in Bart’s eyes. He wanted to kiss Jaime again, and the feeling was mutual. Jaime grinned as he inhaled an ocean full of air as he offered himself up again, “I’m all yours Bart.” 

The speedster’s eyes sparkled with delight hearing the words. Bart was back on Jaime again, kissing so much warmth into him that he couldn’t even feel the -now - cool winds brushing against the pair of them.

When Bart had finally decided to pull up from Jaime - because he wanted to head home to celebrate - he helped his fiance stand up from the sand. Bart couldn’t help but double over in sudden laughter knowing what he had done without Jaime’s knowledge.

Jaime was delighted to see Bart so happy and joined in the unexplained laughter for a few moments before succumbing to curiosity. 

“Amorcito, what’s so funny?” Jaime beamed joyfully.

Bart linked their hands and smiled softly before rubbing his neck nervously wondering whether telling Jaime was a good idea or not. “Curb the attitude and get a little altitude hermano?”

Jaime gasped immediately in disbelief. He knew straight away what that meant.

“No way…” Jaime laughed endearingly before looking at the span of the shore and making sense of it.

Jaime armored himself up from the neck down and wrapped his arm around Bart’s waist tightly, before carefully flying the pair high enough above the shore to see it all. The pair admired the message spanning along the shore in large block lettering. It read, ‘Will you marry me?’.

Jaime shook his head with the world’s largest grin. He looked over at Bart with a smirk, “Figures you’d beat me to it! You are the speedster...” 

Bart hoped Jaime didn’t mind that he had just revealed that he had technically proposed first.

“I knocked you over so I could tell you to read the sand when you sat up. I wanted to make it a crash surprise! But then you popped the question while we were still lying down!” Bart chuckled happily. His gaze softened, “Sorry Jaime, but I was going crazy waiting. I saw the opportunity and jumped on it. I hope you don’t mind...”

Jaime smiled, putting Bart at relief straight away, “Not at all. Great minds think alike carino.” Jaime grinned before slowly leaning in to kiss the man standing on his feet.

The pair both looked back down at the grand gesture. Jaime decided to revisit a memory from their past that he knew Bart would appreciate. “It’s crash.  _ Totally  _ crash.”

Suddenly a fateful wave washed over the shore as the tide tip toed further in, dragging with it the words - ‘Will you’ - back to the ocean blue. Bart gasped loudly in horror, “Oh, come on! I spent 1.6 seconds on that sand-message, it was my masterpiece!”

Jaime broke out in heavy, heavy laughter; and Bart joined in after the initial pout he was wearing had worn off.

Jaime looked up from the remaining words from the message - which were ‘marry me?’ - and put his attention on consoling Bart. “It still works amorcito! And I still think that was super crash of you.”

“Thanks babe.” Bart grinned choosing to see in the silver lining Jaime had pointed out.

“How’s that? Now we  _ both  _ have a cool proposal story to tell.” The Latino beamed.

“Can we leave that last part out though.” Bart used his finger to point at the smudged sand message.

Jaime laughed again, “Si.” After sighing happily, he put an interesting question to Bart, “Which story should we tell amorcito?”

“Mine obviously. Mine was way more romantic.” Bart winked before returning his soft gaze to Jaime ignoring the - almost gone - sunset as he stared at the true wonder before him.

Jaime nodded as if deep in thought for a moment, before answering unsurely, “If you say so carino.”

“Are you challenging me again?” Bart blinked in disbelief before his tone became playfully indignant. “You do remember what happened the last time you tried that right?” He flashed back to the pasta incident. 

“Why do you think I said it?” Jaime raised his eyebrows to show off his smarts.

“Well aren’t you just too clever for me?” Bart settled into the deepest grin yet.

“Si.” Jaime began placing kisses into the soft curves of Bart’s neck.

“Now would be a good time to put us on the sand so I can run us home.” Bart practically sung the statement. He followed it up by implying his point with action. He pressed his body flush against Jaime’s without any fear of falling. Jaime could tell how desperate Bart was to get to get back home based on just the lustful lime tint in his eyes.

Jaime laughed, “Well you’re in luck Bart. Because I’d do anything for you too.”

Jaime immediately lowered the pair to the sand where he did quickly snatch the opportunity to cast himself over Bart in a warm hug. He wanted to cherish this moment just that little bit longer. It was only then he remembered the hidden camera in the eski. He had forgotten to take a photo before popping the question. It wasn’t too late to seize the opportunity now; but he no longer felt like he needed to. The night had been so magical, he knew in his heart he was never ever going to forget it. He didn’t need a picture to remember anything about the evening. The way Bart had looked, sounded, and felt in his arms; was something that was etched into his heart.

The sunset in all its remaining splendor, cast a shadow of the happy pair hugging on the sand behind them. But it only lasted a brief moment as the sun officially disappeared behind the horizon. And that was okay with them, because it was time for them to leave as well. Bart packed up everything back into the - now thankfully much lighter - eski. Jaime picked it up and held onto it as Bart hoisted him into his arms and took off.

Once they had arrived back home, Jaime hurled the eski aside onto the lawn as it was the furthest thing from his mind. He didn’t care if someone stole it overnight. From Bart’s arms, Jaime leaned forward quickly and unlocked the front door. Bart dramatically kicked the sturdy, wooden door open and used his leg to flick it shut behind him.

“Mind if I have a turn mi amor?” Jaime grinned.

Bart’s eyes creased at the corners from the grin, “It would be my pleasure.” The speedster set Jaime down on his feet and they switched positions.

Jaime got to have a turn at kicking their bedroom door open. It turned out it was as fun as it looked. They shared in a chuckle together over their mutual hopelessness.

Jaime began kissing Bart as he walked forward towards the bed, before he skillfully lowered them both without taking his lips off of Bart’s. The pair hummed together happily.

Jaime pulled away to smile at Bart in a manner that showed he thought he was the luckiest man alive. “My fiance.” Jaime whispered in disbelief, whilst wearing a blinding grin. He couldn’t believe how great it felt to actually say that out aloud. He moaned in ecstasy just saying it.

Bart laughed hard, “Babe! I haven’t even started touching you yet!” The speedster held his hands above his head to make a point.

“I know, I just- calling you my finance. It feels so good. I can’t wait to call you my husband.” Jaime’s heart swelled happily even thinking about it.

“Me too.” Bart smiled sweetly before pulling Jaime back down into a sweet, sweet kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are MOST welcome! Highly encouraged in fact! Even it is just a smiley face lol.


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